West Texas Intermediate oil rebounded after sliding below $55 for the first time in more than five years in New York trading. WTI for January delivery gained 83 cents, or 1.5%, to $56.74 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Futures earlier touched $53.60, the lowest since May 2009.
A volatile session saw the FTSE 100 Index fluctuate between positive and negative territory today as the fall-out from falling oil prices continued. Brent crude dipped below 60 US dollars a barrel for the first time since 2009, meaning the energy industry benchmark is now down by about 50% since the summer amid concerns about weakening demand and oversupply. The slump has been worst felt in Russia, where a sudden hike in interest rates from 10.5% to 17% overnight failed to prevent a fresh decline in the value of the rouble, which stood at a new record low.
Armada Oil has terminated the terms of its existing credit facility amid the recent decline in oil price. The firm said it was working with its current lender to secure an extension of the terms of its existing credit facility and expects a resolution before the ed of the year. The loss of its financial facility has also halted work on the Bear Creek #1 project.
Crude oil prices are poised to fall below half where they were six months ago, before producers begin dealing with a global glut. Brent, the global benchmark, will slide to as low as $50 a barrel in 2015, according to the median in a Bloomberg survey of 17 analysts, down from the $115.71 a barrel high for the year on June 19. The grade has already collapsed 47% since then and needs to fall further before producers clear the current glut, said five out of six respondents who gave a reason.
Argentina is depending on two things to reverse a three-year energy shortfall that’s costing $6 billion a year: a shale formation bigger than Massachusetts and Miguel Galuccio, who has worked on drilling operations from North Dakota to Poland and India. President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner appointed Galuccio chief executive officer of YPF SA (YPF) in 2012 after she seized control from Spain’s Repsol SA. Since then, Galuccio has tripled investment in the state-run oil company in an effort to reverse a decline in output that’s led to crippling energy shortages and drove Argentina’s energy imports to record highs. As oil prices plunge below $60 a barrel and global producers revise their spending, Galuccio is sticking with a strategy for the Vaca Muerta shale formation that relies on foreign partners with a long-term view.
The problem with the UK’s North Sea oil sector is that its production costs are higher than those in most other world regions and have been spiralling upwards at an alarming rate for the past 10 years.
Crude prices came under renewed pressure yesterday, and Brent hit five-year lows of nearly $60 a barrel after producer group Opec said it would stick to its decision not to cut output despite fears of a world awash in oil. Brent and US oil initially extended last week's rout, which wiped more than 10% off global crude prices. They were up in New York's Monday morning trade after news that Libya's two biggest oil ports had shut due to fighting between armed factions allied to the country's two rival governments. Loading delays for January cargoes of North Sea Forties crude due to lower-than-expected output was also positive for oil. The North Sea Forties set prices for Brent.
Iraq will sell its Basrah Light crude next month to customers in Asia at the steepest discount in at least 11 years, following Saudi Arabia’s lead as Middle East producers seek to defend market share. Basrah Light, a high-sulfur oil used by refiners including China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., was set at $4 a barrel below the average of Middle East benchmark Oman and Dubai grades, according to a statement from Iraq’s Oil Marketing Co. That’s the lowest since at least August 2003. The official selling price to US buyers was cut by 30 cents compared with December, while shipments to Europe were marked up by 10 cents.
Brent and West Texas Intermediate fell to a five-year low as Iraq followed Saudi Arabia in cutting prices for crude sales to Asia, adding to signs that OPEC’s biggest members are defending market share. Futures dropped as much as 1.3%t in London to the weakest intraday price since September 2009. Iraq, the second-largest producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, reduced its Basrah Light crude to the lowest in at least 11 years, a price list for January showed.
Stock markets, oil companies, service companies and investors are reeling from Saudi’s shock decision not to support a cut in OPEC production in order to balancesupply and support prices, and the consequent slump in oil prices. This stance is a radical departure from Saudi’s previous behaviour when supply and demand fell modestly out of balance. In the past, a few words of support have been enough to have the oil traders scurrying back to their desks to close their short positions. Why the change of policy on this occasion?
Algeria will press ahead with its $90 billion investment plan in the North African country’s oil and gas industry even with crude prices trading near five-year lows, said the head of state-run energy producer Sonatrach. Sonatrach will invest $22 billion in natural-gas field development as part of the $90 billion program for 2015-19, said Sahnoun, the company’s interim chief executive officer, said at the North Africa Oil & Gas Summit conference in Algiers yesterday. Oil prices have declined about 40% from a June peak amid overproduction and slower demand growth. Brent crude ended last week at $69.07 a barrel.
Oil prices have dipped below 80 US dollars a barrel for the first time in four years, boosting hopes for cheaper petrol on UK forecourts. The price of Brent crude for December delivery fell as low as 79 US dollars a barrel after industry cartel Opec yesterday predicted that demand for its oil will be slightly lower next year at 29.2 million barrels a day. The world’s uncertain growth outlook, with the eurozone stagnant and Chinese expansion showing signs of easing, has fuelled fears that there will be a glut of oil swilling around the global economy.
OPEC won’t cut its collective crude output when it meets later this month and global oil prices will stabilize once the surplus is absorbed by the market, Kuwait Oil Minister Ali Al-Omair said. OPEC, which supplies about 40 percent of the world’s oil, meets November 27 to debate supply. The 12-member Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, which has a production target of 30 million barrels a day, pumped 30.974 million barrels a day in October, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. “I don’t think there will be any cut in the production,” Al-Omair said at a conference in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. “We feel prices will settle down once surplus oil is absorbed.”
The price of Brent crude has steadied at $86 a barrel after the announcement of a cut in Saudi-Kuwait oil output. Production at the Khafji oilfield has been stopped temporarily for environmental reasons.